GUARANTEE FOR SUCCESS

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If you're trying to get a new online business started, andyou don't have a clearly stated ...
policy, I ... you that a year from now, you'll still be tryingto get your business OFF THE If you're trying to get a new online business started, andyou don't have a clearly stated guarantee policy, I canGUARANTEE you that a year from now, you'll still be tryingto get your business OFF THE GROUND, unless you've gottendiscouraged and given up!Even in the traditional brick and mortar world of off-linesales, people need to touch and see a product before theyhave enough confidence to buy.
That's why stores like Searsand JC Penny do so much more walk-in business than catalogsales. In an online business, this consumer apprehension isintensified by not having a physical store, or in many caseseven a phone number to turn to if a product doesn't meetexpectations.Add to that the common fear many consumers have about creditcard transactions in cyberspace, and it's not hard to seethat you need to put your prospective customers at ease ifthey're to become buyers.How can you make your customers feel that doing businesswith you is not a risky proposition? The answer isincredibly simple...offer a money back guarantee!Let's take a look at the up-side of offering a guarantee.First, it provides a statement of personal confidence inyour product.
To be blunt, if you lack confidence in yourproduct - you shouldn't be selling it anyway!The same is true even if you're marketing someone else'sproduct for a commission, or an affiliate program for amulti-level marketing sales program. If the parent companydoesn't eliminate risk by offering to refund fees within aclearly stated time frame, find a different program tomarket.
You'll be amazed how much easier it will be to signup new affiliates if you eliminate the risk.More on the up-side - A solid guarantee policy gives yourenterprise a clear image of professionalism. After all, onlya legitimate business would offer to give dissatisfiedcustomers their money back, right?There are so many entrepreneurial start-ups on the Nettoday, that many opportunity seekers are skeptical of anyprogram giving the appearance of being a small homebusiness.
The assumption is: "They're no bigger than I am,and may not be in business next month, so why risk my moneywith them?"Offering a money back guarantee dispels the smallentrepreneurial image, and alleviates skepticism more thanyou can imagine.Now let's take a look at the downside. If you offer a money-back guarantee, you'll be deluged with refund requests,right?This is only true if you're selling something that is not asyou describe it in your sales literature.
If you've done anaccurate job of explaining the features of your product tothe customer before they make their purchase, there won't beany surprises that will trigger their refund reflex. Inother words, give them what they paid you, and they'll beunlikely to complain about it.Overall, the percentage of buyers asking for refunds fromreputable online businesses is very low.
A 10% return ratewould be surprisingly high, and you would want to take ahard look at either your sales material, or your productsthemselves, to try to determine what was causing thedissatisfaction. Be sure you're not promising something youaren't delivering.Of course, from time to time, you will probably get a refundrequest, people being generally a fickle breed.
What to do?Process it immediately - no questions asked! Make it aspainless for your customers to get a refund as you do forthem to make a purchase. Stand behind your guarantee policy.Flaunt it - cheerfully take care of dissatisfied customers.Make it a pleasant experience, then request a testimonialabout your guarantee policy...turn it into a positive partof your marketing literature.Don't be concerned with losses; they'll be minimal.
Ifyou're shipping hard goods, of course, wait until thecustomer returns the product before you process the refund.However, if you're selling downloadable software or websiteaccess, you'd be hard-pressed to convince me thatyou experienced a measurable financial loss even if acustomer dishonestly didn't destroy the software theydownloaded. With a website membership, of course, you shoulddeactivate their password, but whatever you do, don't letpettiness or greed cloud your judgment and delay promptprocessing of refund requests.You should try to seek out comments from dissatisfiedcustomers as to the nature of their complaint, so that youcan take any action necessary to improve your product, butdon't make this a condition of the refund.
Send the refundnotification in an e-mail, and then close by politelyrequesting comments as to where your product failed them.A word of caution...DO NOT make your guarantee policycomplex or vague...the cleaner and simpler, the better.Best is: "If you are dissatisfied with your purchase for anyreason, we offer a 100% money-back, no questions asked,refund of your purchase price." It is acceptable to set atime limit if you must, but make it reasonable. If it willtake them a month to use and honestly evaluate your program,don't limit the guarantee to a week.Vague, unclear guarantees will place you under a blanket ofsuspicion, and will do more harm than good to your salesefforts.
Leave the conditions out...simply accept ANYREASON, or even NO REASON, for customer dissatisfaction.Don't nitpick in your policy. Even if your credit cardprocessing company doesn't refund the service fee toyour account, give the customer 100% of their money back.Losing a few dollars on a refund is far less costly thanlosing hundreds of sales with a convoluted refund policy.The boosted sales that a liberal guarantee policy will giveyou far outweigh any minimal losses you might incur fromprocessing infrequent refund requests.There is simply no better way to increase sales than to makedoing business with you a completely risk-free proposal foryour customers.
A guarantee is essential to a sound businessplan. Article Tags: Guarantee Policy, Money Back Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .